We Need You
by SymphonicRedWolf
Summary: Alfred Jones is woken up from his stasis sleep after many years. The world and everyone in it has changed drastically. He was woken up for a reason; he's special. He's always been. And they need his help to save everything.
1. Chapter 1

**_I don't really know what this is/will be, to be honest. I was struck with the idea as I walked across campus and just had to write it. It could be something, I suppose... But I figured for now, I'd get it out there. Thoughts would be awesome. _**

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"Vitals are stable."

Several pairs of eyes focused on the pale, unconscious form on the desk. The heart monitor played a steady rhythm and several sets of voices could be heard murmuring over it.

A thick folder lay opened on a nearby counter, files scattered across the countertop. One of the doctors held several pages in his hand, huffing in annoyance. "Honestly, things were so much more annoying back then… Insensitive fucks couldn't even keep everything in order and now I have to deal with this shit…"

"Is this a good idea…?"

"Who's to say he'll even be able to do anything…?"

"_How _many years?!"

"Shut up, bastards," snapped the older Italian doctor as he gave them one of his death glares. Lovino Vargas, the more temperamental of the twins, stepped closer to the table, holding a small transparent tablet in his hands. He held it out over the unconscious boy's form, his glare not letting up. "Feliciano, will you administer the drug?"

The rest of the team held their breath as the younger one bounced over to the table, a bright smile on his face. "Si, fratello! It's time?"

Lovino nodded and it was with great care that Feliciano lifted the boy's arm, introducing the drug to his bloodstream. "It's time to wake up, Jones~" Lovino's eyes never left his tablet as the boy on the table shuddered.

There was silence as Jones' striking blue eyes opened. Everybody watched in amazement as the boy sat up, coughing and spluttering. Jones took deep, heavy breaths, eyes wandering around the room. His mouth moved, but no sound came out, and it was then that his nervous gaze settled on the twin doctors. He squinted, trying to make out the figures in the distance.

"Easy, Jones. The inability to speak is a temporary side-effect of the stasis. Your vocal chords don't know what to do with themselves after going unused for so long." The blond blinked at Lovino's words, looking at his hands. Lovino held the tablet out over Jones again, checking to make sure everything was still stable. "You seem fine. Everything looks good. Name's Lovino Vargas. Remember it, because I'm not repeating myself." Lovino frowned as he saw him squinting. "Can you see me?"

Alfred shook his head, mouthing 'no.'

"Guess there are some things that still can't be fixed… Give Jones that bag, would you? He needs it." He picked a clear bag up off the chair that held a pair of thin wire-rimmed glasses, handing it over to his brother.

"And I'm Feliciano Vargas!" Jones flinched instinctively as the brunet ran over to him, but relaxed when he saw the gentle smile on Feliciano's face. The glasses were thrust out to him and he took them with a smile, feeling more relaxed as he felt the familiar weight of the lenses on his face. The world came into focus and it felt good to be able to see again. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Jones, sir. My brother and I are your doctors; you've been asleep for a really long time now."

"Alfred…" he mouthed, nothing audible but the breath escaping his lips. Feliciano tilted his head as Alfred began pointing at himself, shaking his head. "Not 'Jones;' call me Alfred…" Alfred began coughing again, rubbing at his scratchy throat.

"You want me to call you Alfred?" Alfred nodded. "Alright then! How are you feeling? I can't imagine it feels good to be suddenly woken up like that…"

"Shut up, Feli. Don't go overwhelming the kid," Lovino snapped, walking up to Alfred's bedside. Alfred's hand went to his head and he made several unexplainable gestures, earning a sigh from the elder doctor. His mouth moved too fast for him to grasp any words, so he held a hand up to stop he kid before he wasted any more of their time. "You'll be confused for a while, I can pretty much guarantee that… You've got a lot of catching up to do; things are very different from what you know. Your head might hurt for a while and you're going to have to learn how to walk again. Your body isn't used to supporting your weight, obviously; it has to get back into the swing of things. Lightheadedness is to be expected. If you feel like you're going to pass out, just sit down and somebody will help you. You'll be thrown off-balance a lot and your hearing might come and go, but it won't be gone for long, I promise. The best way I can describe it is feeling like somebody's holding your head underwater and won't let you come up."

Lovino cut Alfred off again as the blond tried to speak. "I know you've got a ton of questions. Save those for later. Feli, get the kid some clothes, would you? Some naked kid is not exactly what I want to be staring at right now."

"You got it!"

Alfred's eyes widened and his cheeks turned bright red as he realised he was on display for everybody in the room to see. His hands flew out to cover himself. While he certainly had nothing to be ashamed about, he was never much of an exhibitionist and being under the watchful eyes of a group of strangers was more than unsettling.

"I didn't know what size you were, so hopefully these will fit you…"

Alfred took the clothes gratefully, turning away from everybody to pull the clothes on and save what was left of his decency. His fingers fumbled with the buttons and he huffed angrily every time they slipped out of place.

"Do you need help?" Feliciano asked gently, earning a fierce shake of the head from the blond. When he finally got the clothes on properly, he swung his feet over the edge of the bed and tried to stand, legs giving out instantly.

"Careful!" Feli cried, wrapping an arm around Alfred's waist to steady him. "Lovi said you won't be able to walk just yet…" Alfred was a little taller than he was, so the Italian could put his arm over his shoulders comfortably to help support him.

Alfred's stomach growled loudly and he would have chuckled if he could. "Food…?"

Feli nodded. "What kind of food do you like?"

Alfred started mouthing a bunch of his favourite old fast-food restaurants, much to Feli's confusion. Lovino groaned as he caught a few of them, shaking his head and cursing under his breath in Italian. "What are those…? There hasn't been anything like that for at least fifty years now…"

Alfred blinked and stared at Feli, expression saying it all: 'What the hell am I going to eat, then?!'

"I'm sorry!" he cried instinctively. "Don't be mad at me!" Alfred's gaze softened. "But we kind of have something like that… I'll show you."

Alfred was led into the kitchen, staring again. It was _huge._ Everything was pristine and it was stocked for a nuclear war. There were spices, fruits, enough utensils for a small army, and everything in-between… "We don't use this machine often since we all like to cook for ourselves, but this thing can make literally anything you want in seconds."

At least this thing looked familiar. Alfred was staring at a regular old microwave, or so he thought. At a closer look, the buttons were nothing like he had ever seen before. There was a keyboard attached to the device and more settings than Alfred even knew what to do with. "How do I…?"

Feli reached for the keyboard and held it out in front of Alfred. "Type what you want. Based on your choice, it'll ask you a couple different things and then you pick a few more options and then voila! Food! I have no idea how it works, so don't ask… But it's great for emergencies. Like right now. But we'll make you a real meal once you've built up more of your strength."

Alfred shakily typed in his favourite food, blinking when the microwave-thing began flashing and making noises. How this little thing was supposed to make him food and not attack him was a mystery, but as soon as the machine spit out the warm hamburger, Alfred didn't really care anymore. He wolfed it down happily and immediately went back for another.

Feli had no words as Alfred ate what must have been ten of them.

"Full now…" Alfred mumbled, his voice a soft whisper. "Think I'm going to be sick…"

"Oh! I was supposed to tell you not to eat so much once you've just woken up!" Feli laughed nervously. "I forgot… But it should pass! Just take it easy…"

Easy translated to Alfred throwing up in the kitchen sink.

Once Feli had gotten Alfred and the sink cleaned up, he showed him where he'd be sleeping from here on out. It was a small, all-white room that to Alfred was just incredibly unappealing. It reminded him of a hospital room,and his last visit didn't hold any good memories. "Does it have to be so…boring?"

"No, watch this!" Feli tapped a small screen next to the bed and it came alive with colours and choices. "This is what it looks like when nobody's using it. But this computer lets you make it whatever you want. It does almost anything!" Alfred's eyes sparkled as Feli showed him all the incredible choices. He cycled through so many different options that Alfred didn't know what to pick. He would give this more thought when he was feeling one hundred percent again, so Feliciano settled on a simple, yet elegant hotel design complete with a large fluffy bed, choosing a blue and white theme.

"I love blue," Alfred whispered happily, falling back onto the bed. "Can I ask you something, Feliciano?"

"You can call me Feli!" He sat down on the bed next to the blond and nodded. "Si, of course."

"Why did you wake me up?"

"Well, uhm…" Feliciano played with the edge of his shirt nervously. "You see…"

"We need your help," came a voice from the door. A blond man in a lab coat stepped forward, thick eyebrows furrowed.

"Oh, Arthur! Good timing. Alfred, this is Arthur Kirkland. He's a really smart man. He's one of the researchers. He helped with a lot of the technical stuff that got you here."

"Alfred Jones…"

"Voice is sounding better already. Just a day or so before it's back to full strength, I'd say. I know you've got a ton of questions, but before we start with those, there was something in your belongings that I recovered that you need to see."

"I have belongings…?"

"A few things. A jacket that's well older than I am, a strange handheld…thing…"

"My game! Oh, no way!" Alfred squeaked pathetically, grinning widely. The squeaking hurt his throat, but he was too excited to care. "It made it?!"

Arthur blinked and cleared his throat. "Yes, anyway… What I want to show you is this." He pulled a small blue disc out of his pocket, holding it out for Alfred. Alfred turned it over in his hands, staring at it.

"What am I supposed to…what?!" Alfred jumped as the disc split in the middle, sliding open. A bright light shot out from the centre of the disc, forming a cone a few inches high. A well-built figure appeared in the light and Alfred drew in a sharp breath.

"D-Dad…?"


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter two of the story I'm still not quite sure about the direction of yet, but it makes me happy that there are people who are interested in this little unfleshed idea that I've got, so thank you to you guys. :3**_

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Feli and Arthur both exchanged puzzled glances. The room went deathly silent as the man's image flickered in the light. Alfred's body began to shake ever so slightly as the man who looked like a much older, more mature version of Alfred looked up at him, a tired smile on his face. Dirty blond bangs covered his left eye and the projection flickered more with Alfred's shaky hands.

"Son, I don't know when you'll be seeing this message… I hope it isn't too long. I don't know how different things will be for you when or wherever you are, but don't let the sudden change shock you."

Alfred's father paused, pulling on his army fatigues. His gaze went to something unseen in the projection; Alfred held his breath and waited, pulling the projection closer to his face. His eyes followed his father's, desperately seeking out what pulled his father's attention away from whatever it was he was saying. The distraction was fleeting, as Alfred had his attention again just a moment later.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't be there… But nobody told me until it was too late. I feel terrible; you must have been scared even though you wouldn't have shown it. You're my brave, reckless boy, after all…" Alfred smiled. "Mattie was there… You remember, don't you? When it was over, he came all the way out here to see me and cried for days. I'm still not sure how he managed to get on-base; he won't tell me." His father let out a rich, hearty laugh. "I Skyped with your mother; she sends all her love."

Feli and Arthur both looked at each other. "Skype…?" Feli mouthed silently, tilting his head. Arthur shrugged, never having heard of it before.

Alfred sniffed, rubbing furiously at his eyes before the tears could fall. He held the projection disc so tightly that his knuckles began to turn white. Alfred's eyes widened as the image of his father flickered in and out and he silently screamed at the device, unsure of what was happening. There was panic and sadness in those blue orbs and Feli put a comforting hand on Alfred's back, rubbing small circles to calm him down.

"And kiddo, don't forget what I always tell you. Keep your head up because you'll never see the sky if you're looking down." Alfred nodded, mouthing something the two men couldn't quite catch.

"I made this video so that you…" His father flickered and Alfred squeaked pathetically when the sound cut out. He hoarsely screamed and squeaked at the disc, begging for it to work properly. "…shouldn't have to be… Remember they… I wanted to say…you…at…"

Alfred's eyes widened as the room went silent and he shook the disc furiously as the projection of his father disappeared. He hit it against his hand, gripping it so tight it was a wonder it didn't snap in half. The tears he was holding back fell freely, staining his cheeks. When he realised he couldn't get the projection of his father back, Alfred hung his head and curled up on the bed, holding the disc to his chest. It was a fleeting comfort, but a much needed one.

"Alfred…?" Feli tried gently, keeping his voice soft to not startle the blond. Alfred buried his head into the sheets and didn't make a sound save for the occasional sob. He put his hand lightly on Alfred's back, making soothing motions as he murmured in Italian. Arthur, on the other hand, looked slightly guilty as he watched the scene, shifting slightly in his seat.

"I'm sorry, lad. That's all I could recover off that old tape. I didn't think those were even real until I saw it mixed in with your personal effects. The tape was much too old and some of the film was damaged over time; I got everything I could off it. That was a lot of work, too, I'll have you know…"

Alfred curled up more; Arthur's words only made him feel worse. "Ve!" Feli hit Arthur lightly on the shoulder. "Don't say that!"

Arthur's emerald eyes dropped. "S-Sorry… You can keep that if you want; it's yours, after all." With a sniff, Alfred lifted his head slightly to look at the older blond. "You can have your, uh, game thing when you're feeling up to it." Alfred nodded slowly, looking at his disc again. He pointed to it a few times and shrugged, looking between the two men.

"Um… Are you trying to play a game…?" Feli asked cluelessly, not catching onto the frustrated look that Alfred was giving him. The disc was promptly shoved in Feli's face with a huff.

"Oh for heavens' sake! Yes, you can watch the video again whenever you want." Alfred's face lit up and he held the disc out toward Arthur, mouthing 'How?' Arthur's hands moved to the side of the disc, feeling around for the small button. "Here. Press this and then it will open again. If you push it closed, the message will stop."

Alfred nodded and stuffed the little disc into his pocket, wiping the trail of tears off his face. He wanted to be alone and didn't all at the same time and wasn't sure what to make of the situation. Seeing his father again made him happier than he could've imagined, but with the projection and the strange disc, he realised what a different world he was brought back into.

"Al?" Feli asked, snapping the blond out of his thoughts. Alfred tilted his head as the Italian gave him a kind smile. "You want to go meet everyone else? I'll show you around more."

Alfred brightened and nodded, hopping off the bed. Arthur sighed and walked toward the door, shaking his head. "I've got work to do. If you want to see me, come by my lab." Alfred pouted as Arthur left, but that didn't last long as Feli was already pulling on his arm to lead him out. His legs had given out several times in protest of being forced to move again at such a quick pace and after he nearly faceplanted—saved by Feli's surprisingly quick reaction time—the excited Italian slowed down their pace.

"What to show you first…? Oh! I'll introduce you to Yao! You might like him. He's the guy in charge of making sure everything runs smoothly. He runs the control room and oversees the equipment. He can make lots of useful things! He's also in charge of all the supplies."

Alfred was brought to a room with a lot of electronics and flashing screens. Rows of colourful buttons flashed along one wall and he jumped as something started beeping loudly. A sharp "Ai-yah!" could be heard from inside the room and the dark rolling chair glided across the floor. Yao's slender hands flew at the keyboard, pressing buttons so fast that Alfred couldn't keep up.

"Yao!" Feli chirped cheerfully, leading Alfred deeper into the room. "Remember that kid we were talking about? Well this is Al—"

"Can't you see I'm in the middle of something, aru? At least wait until I finish before trying to show me somebody!" Yao didn't look away from his screen as he spoke, glancing at what appeared to be an inventory log. Alfred and Feli exchanged puzzled glances as they tried to follow what the small Asian was doing, eventually giving up in defeat. Yao turned to them when he was finished, brushing dark bangs out of his eyes.

"Now that that's finished, you're the kid they were looking for all this time?" Yao stood and Alfred blinked at just how tiny the man was. His slender frame and small stature was a surprise compared to some of the others he had seen already. The two shook hands, Alfred nodding slightly.

"Wang Yao. You can call me Yao. It's good to meet you. I've been around here for a while and even I didn't think it was possible, but here you are, aru." Alfred tilted his head and opened his mouth to squeak his response but was interrupted by the cheery voice of his Italian doctor.

"That's Alfred Jones, but he likes it when you call him just Alfred. He can't really talk right now and shouldn't be straining his vocal chords too much… But I'll help."

"So Feli said you handle supplies…?"

"That's right. I do a lot of that work. I oversee a lot of the stuff that happens around here. I've got to make sure we've got everything we need to keep this place running." Yao sighed. "Leave it to the old man to have to run around the room all day."

Alfred blinked. Old? Yao didn't look any older than him. "Surprised?" The Asian man asked with a chuckle. "I'm actually the oldest one here, believe it or not. How old? Well that's an ancient secret."

"Dude, no way!" Alfred squeaked miserably, rubbing his throat. "You're only like twenty! If that!"

Yao shrugged. "Okay. I'll be twenty, then. And you're, what, nineteen, twenty?"

"Counting or not counting the years I've been asleep? Because counting them, I bet I'm as old as you are," Al said with a playful smirk. "But if not, uhm, what's today's date?" Alfred tapped at his wrist in hopes they'd understand in case his squeaks weren't enough.

"June 30th, 2148. 17:50."

Alfred's eyes went wide. The room seemed to start spinning all of a sudden and Alfred wasn't sure what was happening. He didn't respond to the first call of his name by either man and Feli placed a gentle hand on Alfred's shoulder. Yao watched curiously, ready to catch the boy if he fainted.

"What's wrong, Al? Are you feeling sick again? Do you need to sit down?"

Alfred kept the deer in the headlights look for another minute, his brain in overdrive. "I-Is that really today's date…?" No, surely it was a joke. Somebody was messing with him; they had to be.

"Yeah… Why?"

"That can't… F-For this long…?"

Yao and Feli exchanged nervous glances. Was Alfred having a mental breakdown…?

"Tomorrow… Tomorrow will be my 120th birthday…"

A big smile played out on Feli's lips. "Ve! Your birthday is tomorrow? We should celebrate! I'll cook pasta special for the occasion; have you ever had pasta? Eh…? Alfred…?"

The blond's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he went limp under Feli's touch, sinking to the ground. Feli's eyes widened and he kneeled down beside Alfred's unconscious form, shaking him lightly. "Al! Wake up! Oh no… Fratello! Francis! Somebody help!" Feli's eyes sparkled with unshed tears as Yao tried to comfort him, but the longer Alfred stayed unconscious, the more frantic the Italian got.

Lovino burst through the doors a few minutes later, eyebrows furrowed. He rolled his eyes as he took in the sight before him, shaking his head at his younger brother. "I told you not to overwhelm him, didn't I?"

"F-Fratello..." Feli sniffed, rubbing at his eyes. "Alfred just..."

"Shut up," Lovi snapped, crossing his arms. "You did what I told you not to and look what happened. Get the potato bastard to carry him back to his room."


End file.
